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The Flea Theater is a theater in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It presents primarily experimental theatre by Black, brown, and queer artists, as well as a venue for film stars to act on a 74-seat stage. The theater was founded in 1996 by Jim Simpson, Sigourney Weaver, Mac Wellman, and Kyle Chepulis. The Flea earned early acclaim for original productions of post-9-11 play The Guys and political works by A. R. Gurney. According to the New York Times, "Since its inception in 1996, The Flea has presented over 100 plays and numerous dance and live music performances. Under Artistic Director Jim Simpson and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, The Flea is one of New York’s leading off-off-Broadway companies." [1]
Founded in 1996, the award-winning [2] Flea Theater was originally formed to create, according to the theatre's website, “a joyful hell in a small space”. [3] The Flea receives over 17,000 visitors each year. [ citation needed ] In March 2015, The Flea announced that Niegel Smith would be taking over for Jim Simpson as its new artistic director. [4]
Production highlights include The Guys by Anne Nelson, starring Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray. Additional productions include Oh the Humanity and Other Exclamations, by Pulitzer finalist Will Eno, starring Marisa Tomei and Brian Hutchison. This collection of five short plays extended through winter 2008. Another recent Flea hit was Mrs. Farnsworth, a political comedy written for The Flea by renowned playwright A. R. Gurney, which was performed by Sigourney Weaver and John Lithgow. Mrs. Farnsworth won rave reviews and returned to The Flea for an encore in the fall. For two years in a row, The New York Times named a Flea production as one of the best Off-Broadway shows of the season—O Jerusalem in 2003 and Mrs. Farnsworth in 2004. Recent productions include The Great Recession: six plays commissioned by The Flea exploring the impact of the current economic crisis on the younger generation written by Thomas Bradshaw, Sheila Callaghan, Erin Courtney, Will Eno, Itamar Moses and Adam Rapp; Jonathan Reynolds's Girls in Trouble; and Bathsheba Doran's Parents’ Evening.[ citation needed ]
In the early 2020s, the Flea Theater underwent a substantive organizational reconfiguration in response to longstanding grievances within its artistic community. Dissatisfaction, notably surrounding unpaid labor and perceived mistreatment of Black artists, surfaced prominently in 2020 when actress Bryn Carter articulated concerns regarding elitism and racism within the institution. This catalyzed a transformative process culminating in the establishment of the Fled Collective, a group vocally critical of the extant Flea paradigm, which secured financial support to independently curate programming in the TriBeCa venue. Confronting fiscal challenges subsequent to the departure of key personnel, including Carol Ostrow, the Flea instituted a hybrid operational model, committing to remunerative practices for actors and a thematic emphasis on the works of "Black, brown, and queer artists." Founding artistic director Jim Simpson and Sigourney Weaver endorsed the transfer of control to the Fled Collective in a joint statement. Emphasizing the Fled Collective's earned merit, passion, and potential for a dynamic season, the couple criticized the dissolution of the Flea's programs. They underscored the historical contributions of young individuals and concluded with a resolute plea to "Give them the keys." The organization's revival commenced with the staging of Arden — But, Not Without You, reflecting a renewed artistic direction. [5]
The Flea produces several original major productions each year. Flea artists have been honored with two OBIE Awards, an Otto Award and, in May 2004, The Flea was given a Drama Desk Award for Distinguished Achievement commending its dedication to adventurous theater.
In 2010, The Flea was awarded the American Theatre Wing's National Theatre Company Grant. [6]
Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver is an American actress and film producer. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in science fiction and horror films. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work.
Will Eno is an American playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. His play, Thom Pain was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2005. His play The Realistic Joneses appeared on Broadway in 2014, where it received a Drama Desk Special Award and was named Best Play on Broadway by USA Today, and best American play of 2014 by The Guardian. His play The Open House was presented Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre in 2014 and won the Obie Award for Playwriting as well as other awards, and was on both TIME Magazine and Time Out New York 's Top Ten Plays of 2014.
The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by director Marshall W. Mason, playwright Lanford Wilson, director Rob Thirkield, and actress Tanya Berezin, all of whom were veterans of the Caffe Cino. The plan was to establish a pool of artists — actors, directors, playwrights and designers — who would work together in the creation of plays. In 1974, The New York Times critic Mel Gussow acclaimed Circle Rep as the "chief provider of new American plays."
Jerry Zaks is an American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves (1986), Lend Me a Tenor (1989), and Six Degrees of Separation (1991) and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama Desk Award for Guys and Dolls (1992).
John McDowell Wellman, is an American playwrighter, author, and poet. He is best known for his experimental work in the theater which rebels against theatrical conventions, often abandoning such traditional elements as plot and character altogether. In 1990, he received an Obie Award for Best New American Play. In 1991, he received another Obie Award for Sincerity Forever. He has received a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers Award, and the 2003 Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement, as well as the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists award (2003).
Love Letters is a play by A. R. Gurney that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play centers on two characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III. Using the epistolary form sometimes found in novels, they sit side by side at tables and read the notes, letters and cards – in which over nearly 50 years, they discuss their hopes and ambitions, dreams and disappointments, victories and defeats – that have passed between them throughout their separated lives.
The Guys is a play by Anne Nelson about the aftereffects of the collapse of the World Trade Center. A film version of the play was released in 2002 and starred Sigourney Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia.
MCC Theater is an off-Broadway theater company located in New York City. The theater was founded in 1986 by artistic directors Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey and William Cantler. Blake West joined the company in 2006 as executive director. MCC opened its current location in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, as The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, on January 9, 2019.
Dixon Place is a theater organization in New York City dedicated to the development of works-in-progress from a broad range of performers and artists. It exists to serve the creative needs of artists—emerging, mid-career and established—who are creating new work in theater, dance, music, literature, puppetry, performance, variety and visual arts.
Crazy Mary is a play by A.R. Gurney that had its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in New York City from May 11-June 26, 2007, with actors Kristine Nielsen as Mary, Sigourney Weaver as Lydia and Michael Esper as Skip. Scenic Design was by John Lee Beatty. Costume Design was by Claudia Brown. Lighting Design was by Brian Aldous. Sound Design was by Jill BC DuBoff. Production Stage Manager was Janet Takami. The play is directed by Jim Simpson (Mrs. Farnsworth; Psych) and took place on PH's Mainstage Theater.
The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. It was awarded a Tony Award in 2002 and the Massachusetts Cultural Council Commonwealth Award in 2011.
Stafford Arima is a Canadian-born theatre director. Arima studied at York University in Toronto, where he was the recipient of the Dean's Prize for Excellence in Creative Work. He is a member of the SDC and CAEA. In April 2017, he became the artistic director of Theatre Calgary.
Danny Burstein is an American actor and singer. Known for his work on the Broadway stage, he's received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards and nominations for three Grammy Awards.
En Garde Arts is a New York City-based theatre company, and a pioneer in the field of site-specific theatre. They are an artist-centric company that supports playwrights, directors, composers and designers in creating new work from the ground up. “They invite artists to think deeply about the stories they choose to tell and the physical sites where they belong to meet audiences where they live and work, spark conversations that explore a range of perspectives, and build an inclusive community”. Founded in 1985 by Artistic Director Anne Hamburger, the company was New York's first exclusively site-specific theatre, leading audiences to unexpected locations across the city for innovative, contemporary, highly visual new work. En Garde's productions earned six Obie Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, the Special Outer Critics Circle Award and the Edwin Booth Award.
"Speculations: An Essay on the Theater" is a treatise by experimental playwright Mac Wellman. It was published with the collection of plays entitled The Difficulty of Crossing a Field. It is also available, with additional material not included in the book, on Wellman's website.
Kristine E. Nielsen is an American actress known for her work on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Nielsen was nominated for the 2013 Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Play for her performance as Sonia in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and the 2019 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a comedy play written by Christopher Durang. The story revolves around the relationships of three middle-aged single siblings, two of whom live together, and takes place during a visit by the third, Masha, who supports them. They discuss their lives and loves, argue, and Masha threatens to sell the house. Some of the show's elements were derived from works of Anton Chekhov, including several character names and sibling relationships, the play's setting in a country house with a vestigial cherry orchard, the performance of an "avant-garde" play by one of the main characters, and the themes of old vs. new generations, real vs. assumed identities, the challenges of a woman growing older after successes in a career that seems to be ending, the hope and carelessness of youth, intrafamilial rivalries, and the possible loss of an ancestral home.
James Ijames is an American playwright, actor, and professor originally from Bessemer City, North Carolina. He received his B.A. in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and earned his MFA in Acting from Temple University in Philadelphia, where he is now based. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Villanova University and co-artistic director of the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia. Ijames is a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia's first playwright producing collective. His adaptation of Hamlet, titled Fat Ham, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2022. The production ran at The Public Theater during the summer of 2022, before opening on Broadway in April 2023. He is the recipient of the 2018 Whiting Award for drama and the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist.